ISLAMABAD - Appalachian State University, United States, will join hands with Heavy Industries Taxila Educational City (HITEC) Taxila for one year youth exchange plan to bridge the gap between two cultures through educational and cultural exchanges supporting mutual respect between Americans and Pakistanis and encourage appreciation of other cultures.
According to the statement issued by the HITEC here from Islamabad office, the plan launched by Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Islamabad with 266,197 US dollars grant between Hardin Park Elementary, Green Valley Elementary School and Watauga High school, all in Watauga County, and the HITEC Cambridge School, Junior High School for Boys and the College for Girls.
The project will be directed by Dr. Jesse Lutabingwa, associate vice chancellor for international education and development at Appalachian, and Arshad Bashir, a Fulbright doctoral student in the educational leadership program in Appalachian’s Reich College of Education.
Administrator HITEC Birg (retd) Taj Iqbal in the statement said the one-year plan is divided into three phases. Phase one will include preliminary discussions and exchanges using technology and will build upon a pilot online collaborative program between HITEC schools in Pakistan and North Carolina’s Watauga and Ashe county schools.
In the second phase of the project, 12 students from HITEC will be selected to participate in a three-week exchange program Dec. 1-21 at Watauga High School, Hardin Park
Elementary School or Green Valley Elementary School. Three HITEC teachers and five administrators will accompany the Pakistani students to the U.S. In order to enhance the cultural learning experiences, all Pakistani visitors will be accommodated by host families in the local communities.
Prior to returning to Pakistan, the group will spend four days in Washington, DC, and will be accompanied by six students and three teachers from the Watauga County Schools. While there, they will visit the White House, be hosted at the U.S. Department of State, and attend a reception hosted by the Pakistani Embassy. During the third
phase of the grant, six teachers and three administrators from participating schools in North Carolina, as well as three faculty and staff members from Appalachian, will travel to Pakistan from Feb. 23 to March 1, 2013, to participate in the exchange.